I skied in St Moritz on Friday, 16th March 2018. I stayed in Chur. Travel time by train was 2 hours. I bought the half day lift ticket at the (expensive) price of about 60 euros. However, the most expensive turned out to be the ski equipment, which I rented from the shop underneath Corviglia gondola and costed 55 Euros! Despite the so expensive rent rate (the most expensive ever!), the equipment was not good, as the bindings fell away and they fixed them in their shop up in the mountain. This did not take more than one minute, but what would I have done if this happened while skiing? The main ski center above the village of St Moritz is Corviglia. It is a nice ski center, mainly with red slopes. On Friday, 16th March 2018, the weather was perfect. Thus, it was sunny, not at all windy with very good visibility. There was about 1 1/2 meter of snow in the ski center. The snow quality was good, in general. In the sun exposed slopes, like for example slope no 4, the snow was soft and not good, but the snow in the slopes in the back part of the mountain (for instance no 16) was hard and good for fast turns. After skiing the blue no 6 and the red no 4, I took the Pitz Nair gondola, then skied the red no 16 and the red no 34, then took the chair de la Pesch, then skied the black 18, which was challening, then the red no 10 down to the lift Gluna, then I took Gluna and skied down the blue no 20, the red no 31 and the blue no 21. Afterwards, I took the plateau nair, then I skied the red no 7 down to Corviglia gondola.
It is a beautiful ski center, recommended to have fun and enjoy nice view over St Moritz village. However, be warned: it is really expensive, meaning that you can find the same good quality with better prices in other ski centers of the Alps. I would not recommend staying at St Moritz as it is really expensive and, in my opinion, it lacks in charm. Instead, try Chur, the most ancient city of Switzerland, the old city of which is really interesting.

St Moritz Ratings

Access: 3.9

(1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day &ndash; you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of St Moritz.

Public Transport: 4.5

(1) There are no buses or taxis to St Moritz, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.

Scenery: 5.0

(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.

Accommodation: 4.8

(1) No places to stay in/near St Moritz, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.

Cheap Rooms: 3.8

(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.

Luxury Hotels: 5.0

(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in St Moritz.

Ski in/Ski out: 3.9

(1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.

Childcare: 4.2

(1) There are no child care facilities at St Moritz, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.

Snowsure: 4.9

(1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) St Moritz is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.

Snowmaking: 4.7

(1) St Moritz relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.

Snow Grooming: 4.7

(1) There are no snow groomers at St Moritz, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at St Moritz are groomed daily.

Shelter: 3.7

(1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) St Moritz is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.

Nearby options: 3.4

(1) If snow conditions are poor at St Moritz, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.

Regional rating: 4.3

(1) St Moritz usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.

Lift Staff: 4.6

(1) The staff at St Moritz are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at St Moritz are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.

Crowds/Queues: 4.1

(1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.

Ski Schools: 4.9

(1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.

Hire and Repairs: 5.0

(1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.

Variety of pistes: 4.7

(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) St Moritz has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.

Beginners: 4.4

(1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.

Intermediates: 5.0

(1) No intermediate terrain at St Moritz, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.

Advanced: 4.7

(1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.

Snow Park: 4.8

(1) Not even a kicker at St Moritz, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.

Off-piste: 4.3

(1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.

Cross-country: 4.7

(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around St Moritz, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.

Luge/Toboggan: 4.3

(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) St Moritz has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.

Mountain Dining: 4.6

(1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.

Eating: 4.9

(1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.

Apres-Ski: 4.7

(1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.

Other Sports: 5.0

(1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.

Entertainment: 5.0

(1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.

Winter Walks: 4.8

(1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.

Ski Pass Value: 4.8

(1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.

Value (National): 4.5

(1) Overall, St Moritz is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.

Value (Global): 4.0

(1) Overall, St Moritz is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

Skied St Moritz twice: last 2 weeks of Dec 2010 (snowing on train ride from Zurich); fresh snow all night. Skiing was great; spent all day on fresh powder, no ice. wife took snowboarding lessons.
2nd stay, week around March 28. Snow much slushier but still good on many runs, wife now a good snowboarder and I gave up skis for board to be with her. Great conditions.
Friendly people, skied with a pro for half a day while he was waiting for his party.
Stayed at Kempinski. I highly recommend it, great saunas great food and feeling to the place, good location for access. I would prefer to stay at base of Corviglia,

February 16, 2012Peter Crook from Italy

We have skied St Moritz today and were dismayed that the high winds which shut most of the lifts for the day were described as light on your forecast this morning. The conditions were horrendous and we wasted the cost of two very expensive lift passes. We will have difficulty trusting this site again.

[note from the editor: we offer the Eyeball Reporting service for situations just like this. It is appreciated that conditions 'on the ground' can vary from those which are within the forecast.]

March 02, 2010Bozorgzadegan Abbas from Iran

Thank you very much for your response. My previous written back to resort review somehow, I have not any experience in St Moritz since now,but my knowlege comes through Shah period and other subjects in reviews,and it is a sort of comprehension and propagation as well !
I am sure, I will change the dream to fact,and you will reflect my opinions about this resort soon after...

[note from the editor: this post shall be left in place for a short period]

February 27, 2010Bozorgzadegan Abbas from Iran

Is there any one to invite me to St Moritz to ski there? My knowledge about this resort back to 1970 eeeees, when shah of Iran and his families did ski there yearly and through resort reviews indeed. and I am sure that he has paid for me( the ski lover 63 years old ) somehow! the one who doese not have enough time to wait for such an exiting experiment...

[note from the editor: this post will stay on the site for a short period as it is not a resort review.]

December 03, 2009kevin from Monaco

St. Moritz was great in winter of 2008/9--made 5 visits!
Blue skies, beautiful women, lots of great snow

January 14, 2006Anthony Deakin from United Kingdom

Went to St Moritz for the day whilst staying in Livigno in Feb 2005. Have to say I was very dissapointed with the most famous ski resort in Europe if not the world. The pistes are spread around, you cannot move for two bob millionaires flouncing around like they own the place and the prices are ridiculous. Wish we had stayed in Livigno but at least we can pull the snobbery and say we skied there. Once but never again.

November 04, 2005 FreeSkier from United States

St.Moritz (in the Engadine Valley) has more to offer than 'St.Moritz' and the "Corviglia" area. For off-piste and free-skiing, Corvatsch ROCKS!!!!! If you're a hard core skier, Corvatsch, about 2miles down the valley from St.Moritz towards Italy is a must. Have had some of my most memorable powder days there, just as good as heli-skiing, maybe better because its more convenient and just as wild. BUT must know the mountain, have good avalanche skills, and be conservative in areas like Furtschellas Couloir and the glacier and Mast Acht face below the tram. Corviglia's off piste is great too, especially as most skiers stay on piste and i remember getting face shots just off the piste, no hiking, even two days after a dump. Try La Galb & Diavolezza too, about 15mins drive the other side of the valley towards Austria - good chances of untracked pow even days after a storm.

March 21, 2005Big air from United Kingdom

I was quite dissapointed with St Moritz this year. I did not feel as though there was adequate snow and due to this a pair of skis were put out of action. But you cant have every thing :(

November 26, 2004Ahmet Douas from United Kingdom

St. Mortiz, is set in the Southernmost part of Switzerland, amongst a beautiful setting. A 3-4 hour drive from Zurich, the sheer beauty of this place, has attracted an endless amount of skiiers. A very luxurious resort, with long, wide, slopes, St.Moritz is equally enjoyable for skiiers and boarders, regardless of age. With glacier skiing up high, and a good amount of pistes, St. Moritz is the choice for families that enjoy skiing with luxury..